A Mirror Darkly
by Hawki
Summary: Oneshot: Hakha's decision to turn his back on Visari and aid the ISA was not undertaken lightly, but he could at least live with himself knowing that he'd taken the moral high ground. At least he knew until he confronted General Adams...


**A Mirror Darkly**

Colonel Gregor Hakha didn't like killing.

Not a sentiment that someone in his position would express of course. It was his job to ensure that the enemy (or _his _enemy, all things considered), were defeated, a process that was aided by ensuring that as many enemy soldiers died as possible with comparatively few losses for your own forces. In recent times however, he'd found that he had to deal death directly-partly for survival, partly to convince that ape of a sergeant that he wasn't some "motherfucker that will stab us in the back as soon as he gets the chance."

It was a wonder that humanity had managed to leave Earth at all really, let alone reach Vekta.

Still, he had a job to do. And if that meant shooting through the glass of the command module to kill the helghast soldier standing guard, so be it.

_Not the enemy though, _thought Hakha grimly as the man toppled down amongst the shattered glass. _A pawn of the real enemy...Scolar Visari. _He moved forward, keeping the SD platform's commanding officer in his sight. _Or does such an honour belong to General Adams?_

Despite having a STA-52 light assault rifle pointed at him, the general seemed to be unfazed, or at least unfazed by the fact that his bodyguard was lying on the floor and there was a strong chance that he'd be joining him. Not that he was totally ignorant of the situation however...

"I suppose this is to be expected," said Adams, an edge to his voice that Hakha wasn't familiar with. You would never have been content with Lente's death."

_What? Is that what he thinks this is about? _Hakha wondered, his grip on his rifle not faltering. _He thinks this is about revenge?_ All things considered, it was a fair assumption, considering that he'd played the role of executioner in Joseph Lente's death. Not that he'd taken any pleasure in it. He'd been friends with the man once, and if it wasn't for Visari's dreams of insanity, they probably still would have been.

_Just like Adams. A man who follows his own motives and gets other people killed for it._

"The war is over," Adams continued, moving his arms as if he was some kind of messiah. "Without Lente the attack will come to nothing."

_Good. There's been enough bloodshed._

"But they will be back. Visari will never give up on Vekta."

_And nor will the UCN, _Hakha thought, beginning to wonder about Adams' sanity, the man's tired eyes and lank eyes complementing his strained voice. _For God's sake general, can't you see that war will get us nowhere?_ Hakha was tempted to say such a thing, to break Adams' tirade, but decided to let him carry on. His comrades could handle themselves and despite having been exposed to insane rants before on Helghan, he still found interest in examining the nature of the human psyche.

_Just like the helghast too. Another example of how we're not so different._

"You don't get it do you!?" Adams yelled, as if put off by Hakha's silence. "They see _us _as the aggressors! They are fighting to reclaim what we once stole from _them_!"

_And whose fault is that?_

"Fighting to prevent another..._imperialist _ISA attack on their homeland."

Hakha almost smiled. Staring death and/or imprisonment in the face, trust Adams to compare the UCN's actions to the imperialism on Earth centuries ago. He didn't believe the things he was saying, he simply needed to find a way to justify his actions. Or maybe he'd already found a way and was merely repeating what he had told himself. Still, Hakha had done the same thing himself...had justified his actions to turn his back on his people.

_Not my people, _Hakha reassured himself. _On Visari._

"I cannot stop the Earth fleet now!" Adams continued, his movements becoming more fluid, the edge in his voice greater. "The helghast onboard take no notice of me!"

Hakha shook his head. If Adams had been truly dedicated to Visari's cause, that wouldn't be an issue. He knew he'd face prejudice from humanity, face the treatment that Rico seemed intent on giving him at every opportunity. It came with the territory. He was willing to bear with it for the sake of the greater good. Adams, on the other hand...

Adams was getting to him. Somehow, he was stirring up the memories of the same decisions that Hakha had made. And finally, he reached the coup de grace...

"...there's never any pity, no mercy, for the...the...the _traitor_."

Hakha blinked. _A traitor? Is that all he sees us as?_ Lowering his rifle, he prepared to find out.

"You try to compare _us_?" the human-helghast asked. "You made a choice general. A choice based on your own goals and morals. We may both seem like traitors from our outside appearance, but that is where our common ground ends."

The rifle had been raised by this point. Somehow Hakha doubted his words would have much effect. And why would they? He scarcely believed them. Adams had made his choice, true, but going against his masters was exactly what Hakha had done. In a universe of pragmatism, of war, what did ideology matter in the context of actions?

Well, quite a bit actually, but only in as much that ideology could spur action, as Visari had demonstrated. Ideology standing alone was another matter however...

Adams laughed, as if sensing Hakha's lack of resolve. "What are you gonna do? Kill me?! It won't solve a God damn thing!" He folded his arms, knowing that despite facing the barrel of a gun, his words could be just as lethal. "You got Lente, but it wasn't enough was it? No. Templar and his little band of fuckups had to come up here and save the day."

It was a bit rich to be insulting the skills of Captain Templar, thought Hakha, considering that said captain had indeed made it up here despite the heavy odds. But in the long run, what did that matter? He knew the helghast better than any of his comrades. He'd seen where Visari had taken his people...how he would never give up on his dreams...

"If only you could see the visions Visari has shown me..." whispered Adams, ignorant of the fact that it had been these visions that had prompted Hakha to defect in the first place. "The power...the lengths to which they are willing to go, they will never stop! They will never be bargained with..."

Hakha suppressed a shudder. He knew this all too well.

"If...if only you could see how insignificant this..._victory _of yours is to them!" Adams shouted. "Your friends have been captured! The platform is breaking up! Don't you understand?! You don't stand a fucking chance!"

The colonel remained silent.

Yes, he knew. He knew that helghast troops were pouring into the room. Yes, he knew that if Adams was telling the truth he'd have to rescue Templar, Luger and...sigh, even Rico. But that didn't matter. None of it did.

He'd made his choice. He had to see it through. Even if the reasons for his choice were as dead as Lente. A man who'd once been his friend. A man who'd once had similar dreams.

As such, Hakha began firing.

After all, what else could he do?


End file.
